What Happens When the Queen Dies?

Elizabeth II, the queen of England, will turn 91 next month. Plans for what happens after her demise have long been kept under wraps. But now the Guardian has published an extensive article detailing the process that will kick into motion when the queen does pass.

The first person to be notified will be the queen’s secretary, Sir. Christopher Geidt. He will then call the prime minister, uttering the code phrase “London Bridge is down.”

From there, according to The Guardian, the Foreign Office will notify, “the 15 governments outside the U.K. where the queen is also the head of state, and the 36 other nations of the Commonwealth, for whom she has served as a symbolic figurehead.”

At Buckingham Palace, a footman in mourning will emerge to pin a black-edged notice to the gates of the palace. At the same time, its website will be replaced with “a sombre, single page, showing the same text on a dark background.”

Ambassadors and political figureheads will be notified before the wall-to-wall media coverage begins. Some media outlets already have days, if not weeks, of coverage planned out.

At 11 a.m. the next day, Prince Charles will become King Charles. Prince William will become Prince William of Wales, and Kate Middleton will become the princess of Wales.

Before she is buried, the queen will lie in state for four days. Her funeral will be on the 12th day. It is estimated that half a million people will come to pay their respects, including world leaders and heads of state.

The place for her burial has not been determined, but possible locations include her properties at Balmoral and Sandringham and a plot next to her father, King George IV, at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.